Following almost destroying our planet, the families are allies’: a thrilling podcast featuring John F. Kennedy & Nikita Khrushchev’s relatives.

In October 1962, humanity came closer to annihilation than at any other point during recent history. This occurred when an American reconnaissance plane identified that Russian atomic missile installations were being assembled on Cuba, a mere 160 kilometers off the coast of American soil. Reacting to this, U.S. President JFK directed the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet to enact a naval blockade encircling the island. The next phase was nearly two weeks of unbearable tension.

The Catastrophic Danger

The threat was obvious. If Kennedy, or his Soviet counterpart, Premier Khrushchev, were to fire on the other side, a cascade of global nuclear attacks and counterstrikes would have ensued, plunging civilization toward all-out oblivion.

This pivotal 1962 event has been examined endlessly, through volumes, movies, and TV documentaries. But, for its third season, a prominent BBC World Service podcast The Bomb has brought an unprecedented perspective into this historical narrative. It is jointly hosted by Kennedy's relative and Khrushchev's descendant, family members belonging to the leaders who, over 13 days, grasped the destiny of the planet in their hands.

"What was the Kremlin thinking? What was the United States thinking?" asks Khrushcheva, Khrushchev’s descendant and a professor specializing in international affairs.

For her, the beauty of the show lies in its endeavor to objectively ask: "Why do nations detest each other to the point they confront one another?"

"It struck me how profound it is that humans have the potential to be friends or else have the potential to be total adversaries," adds Max Kennedy, the son of RFK, related to the late president and currently a writer as well as lawyer. "We see this repeatedly in instances where nations have gone to war, highlighting the profound irrationality involved to fight."

A Brink of Disaster

What’s remarkable regarding this event is that, since it transpired so publicly, individuals around the world could watch almost as it happened while it crept towards disaster. Nonetheless, the risk of destruction was more imminent than most people understood at the time.

"Virtually everyone in the White House wanted a military strike and a ground invasion," notes Kennedy. "If we had attacked Cuba using the Sixth Fleet, it is certain the Russians on the ground would have deployed a nuclear warhead at the American ships, which would have obliterated the naval vessels as well as destroyed our primary naval force. And, we would have responded with an overwhelming counterattack that would have eradicated all life on Earth."

The reality it didn’t highlights the composure of Kennedy and Khrushchev, who managed to keep their heads while engaging in diplomacy at a time when hawkish elements in their governments was pushing for military action. As a result, The Soviet premier removed the missiles from Cuba while Kennedy (although not reported then) withdrew American similar weapons based in Turkey. The relief was worldwide, as was a feeling of hope.

The Divergent Perspective

Still, during those 13 days in October, the fear was palpable by everyone. The Bomb’s co-hosts were born shortly after these events, with Nina learned about it through the USSR's school curriculum, which painted an alternative narrative of what happened.

"You said your parent remembers it, describing it as a scary time," Khrushcheva notes. "However for Soviet citizens, the public really didn’t know a great deal regarding the crisis, since it was a crisis, and under the Soviet system the official line was that everything was constantly wonderful or positive."

Inside the Khrushchev household, though, the perspective was different. "I was informed what a great occasion it was, because it represented a direct confrontation. The leaders managed to find a solution, thus didn’t start the war, which was a wonderful outcome," she adds. Subsequently, however, that interpretation was not shared by everybody. "For a long time within Russian historical analysis, the crisis was viewed as a failure for the Soviet leader, because he didn’t blow up America."

An Unlikely Collaboration

This podcast is remarkably balanced , well produced so much so that Nina jokes she nearly forgot she already knew the ending. This effect is, in part, thanks to contributions from renowned scholars. Yet, truly, the most groundbreaking thing remains the involvement of the descendants. Not so long ago, it was inconceivable for descendants of the leaders of America and USSR would appear together publicly. That these two individuals are able to do so, and exhibit such warmth toward one another, must be seen as a symbol of optimism.

"Max and I aren't the pioneers," notes Nina. "Following the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, a relative moved to America where he became great friends with the former president's family."

"However we were strangers prior to this project," adds Kennedy. "That is a shame since we connected immediately and we are friends, which is wonderful. Ultimately, following almost 60 years of nearly annihilating the planet, our lineages are now friends, suggesting global relations is safer, somewhat."

Contemporary Parallels and Present Dangers

Or is it? Part of why this series feels so necessary is because we now are living living through a perilous era. The Doomsday Clock stands nearer to catastrophe than ever before, partly since world leaders don’t seem to be able to learn